Jim Shead's Waterways Information

But there were snags to steam. It took up a lot of space; two men were needed to work the boat and although an electric bell was rigged up to act as an engine room telegraph, reaction in emergency was not always quick enough. Having rung ‘full astern’ the unfortunate steerer was apt to find the boat steaming towards some immovable obstruction because the engine room attendant was preoccupied in oiling the engine or coaxing the injector. Another source of friction between steerer and engineer was the smoke. Although Cressy ran more silently than before and steamed well enough with the condenser fitted, there was now not enough draught to lift the smoke over the steerer’s head. Too preoccupied to see the canal ahead, the engineer often unwittingly chose to fire up the moment before Cressy dived into a long tunnel. This provoked bitter recriminations and these were echoed at the bow if the unfortunate steerer, blinded by smoke, bumped the side wall violently, disrupting cooking operations in the galley. Nor was it always easy to obtain supplies of suitable coal. I remember Bill and I sweating profusely one hot August afternoon as we humped hundredweight sacks from a neighbouring coalyard along the towing path at Loughborough.